


Wishes Come From You and Not A Random Shooting Star {✨Kipasher One Shot Collection✨}

by TunaTrash



Category: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Aroace Wolf, Asher’s gotta crushhhhhh, Bi Kipo, Confession, Dancing, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Fluff, Gay Benson, Hurt/Comfort, I’m gonna constantly be adding tags, Kipo does too but she’s oblivious, Lesbian Dahlia, Nonbinary Lesbian Asher, One Shot Collection, Other, Pan Troy, Suggestions and recommend ideas are appreciated, There’s just gonna be a big ol’ variety here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27066298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TunaTrash/pseuds/TunaTrash
Summary: Just a one-shot collection of Kipasher because I don’t see enough of these two! There is no update schedule, I’ll just update whenever I have an idea or feel inspired. Feel free to, no, actually PLEASE leave any ideas or suggestions in the comments! I probably won’t do them all, but if I like your idea or it inspires me than I’ll probably do it, and of course credit you for the original idea! I won’t do any smut or nsfw one shots though!!!!
Relationships: Asher & Dahlia (Kipo and The Age of The Wonderbeasts), Benson/Troy (Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts), Kipasher - Relationship, Kipo Oak & Asher, Kipo Oak & Wolf, Kipo Oak/Asher, Yumyan Hammerpaw & Asher
Comments: 24
Kudos: 151





	1. Not So Perfect Prahm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asher had hoped that Prahm would be the perfect time to tell Kipo how they felt, but everything doesn’t go quite as planned.

Prahm was sort of meant to be perfect in Asher’s mind.

Well, it kinda was. After all, Emilia was defeated and humans and mutes were really able to truly bond, marking the beginning of a unified future between them.

So while it did go well, it didn’t go as Asher had planned, or at least how they had hoped it would go.

They remember the preparation for it clearly, ending up trapped in the float when a bunch of treasure hoarding squirrel mutes had taken it and hidden it believing it was a treasure, or that was what Kipo said.

Asher remember seeing their friend, Troy, talking with his dad quite a lot, preparing flowers to most likely ask his boyfriend, Benson, to Prahm. In the end, Benson had asked him first and Troy, of course, accepted.

They cheered on their friends during it, but they ended up finding themself looking at Kipo, only one thought going through their head.

They wanted what Benson and Troy had.

Not only that, Asher wanted that with Kipo.

Asher had been aware, or at least semi-aware of their feelings towards Kipo for a while now. It seemed like their crush started only a bit before Kipo was lost during the mute attack. They were so small they hardly noticed them though, instead just believing that they missed their close friend. After Kipo returned, with a few new friends, the feelings only seemed to grow. Asher found themself wishing they hadn’t been left with the TimberCats along with Troy and their twin sister, Dahlia, while Kipo was in danger. They were of course grateful for the TimberCats taking them in and even becoming close friends with Yumyan and Molly, even taking care of Yumyan’s giant flee pet, Pierre.

In the end, they of course snuck away with Troy and Dahlia when there was a meeting between a bunch of different mutes. Of course, the three really didn’t have all the details, but decided to sneak in with the TimberCats to see what was going on.

Of course all of them were shocked and even horrified at everything that happened next. The feared Scarlemagne nearly killed them all by filling the area with molten gold, only to have Kipo become a mega purple jaguar, marking the first time Asher got to see their crush as a giant, purple, badass cat, and save the day along with the mega monkey who destroyed their first burrow, but was also apparently Kipo’s mom.

Even now, it was still sort of a lot for Asher to wrap their head around.

After that, there was a time of genuine fear that Kipo was going to find herself with the same terrifying fate her mother had met of being trapped as the mega mute. In the end though, her new friends were able to bring her back.

Asher couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy, and even guilt for even being jealous in the first place, that Benson and Wolf as well as Dave and Mandu were seemingly closer with Kipo than Asher was.

They guessed that’s just what being in life threatening situations over and over again will do.

It was months until Asher, Kipo, Dahlia, and Troy’s people were found again. All of them spent that time period with the TimberCats where Benson and Troy had finally started to officially date, H.M.U.F.A. was in the progress of being formed, Asher got a haircut with the help of Dahlia and an axe.

That would always be a good memory for Asher of their sister preparing to chop their hair short, only to have Kipo walk in and immediately panic after having no idea what was happening.

And of course, there were Asher’s ever growing feelings for Kipo.

They desperately wanted to help her, but they never found themselves able too and instead being left behind time and time again with their twin even though Troy got to go sometimes because of what Asher could only describe as ‘special boyfriend privileges’. They couldn’t help but wonder if they were Kipo’s partner if they could join her more often.

You most likely know the rest of the story, the humans attempting to attack the mutes and successfully ‘curing’ many, Asher and Dahlia being able to convince their parents that mutes aren’t bad, Kipo nearly attacking the humans in revenge, but in the end, inviting them to Prahm instead.

After Benson Prahmposed to Troy, Asher knew that was exactly what they wanted to do for Kipo.

It would be perfect.

They had even gotten help from Dahlia to plan on how to ask Kipo to dance and of course tell her how they felt. They had ended up wearing a tuxedo and wearing their hair up in a similar fashion to how they did back in the burrow. When they got to the dance, Dahila wished them good luck and gave them a small hug before heading off to meet some more mutes, leaving Asher.

After that, the whole plan basically crashed and burned.

Asher wanted to ask Kipo to dance to bad, but recognized how upset and worried she had been ever since Wolf had left. They knew how close Kipo and Wolf were, even calling each other sisters. They felt like it would be insensitive at this point to tell Kipo how they felt when she was already worried about her friend.

In the end, Wolf came back and Asher watched from a far as the two danced and laughed with each other, many of their interactions kind of reminding Asher of their interactions with their twin sister, only reminding them of how close Kipo and Wolf’s sister-like friendship was.

Of course, when Asher had finally hyped themself enough to go ask Kipo to dance, Emilia had appeared, nearly ‘curing’ all the mutes at Prahm. Emilia turned into a terrifying monster-looking mega mute and fought Kipo. She was defeated in the end, and that basically lead up to now.

Asher helped lift up a chunk of rubble off of a snake mute with the help of Molly and Dahlia. It felt like anxiety was clawing inside of their chest as they constantly looked over at the vast expanse of water or the sky for Kipo. They hadn’t seen her since she ran after Emilia. It felt ominously quiet without the fighting that had been there less than an hour ago. It was nerve racking, having absolutely no idea what was happening or if Kipo was okay.

It was kind of a feeling they were used to though, being left in the dark on if Kipo was okay, if they were being honest. However, that didn’t make them feel them any better about it this time.

The sun had already started to rise, rays of warm sunlight now lighting up the area and causing the lake to shine. Asher hadn’t even noticed they were starting to get cold until the sun started to warm them up.

They jumped a little when they felt a hand rest on their shoulder. Asher quickly turned around to see Dahlia standing behind her with a soft look on her face. “I’m sure she’s alright... Kipo’s tougher than all of us combined.”

Asher stayed quiet for a moment before offering Dahlia a small smile and nod in return. It would never cease to amaze them how their twin sister was able to see through them and be able to know exactly what, or who, they were worried about.

The sound of rubble shifting a couple of small pieces of it come tumbling down immediately caught everyone’s attention, both humans and mutes alike, to look up and see Song and Lio, Kipo’s parents, making their way down the rubble alongside Wolf, Benson, Dave, and of course, Kipo.

A smile spread across Asher’s face and they immediately ran towards them, along side the other humans and mutes of course. They found themselves slowing to a stop as they reached the group, their smile dropping when they saw their faces.

All of them looked sad, heartbroken even. Tear stains marked their faces and they all seemed in mourning. Kipo looked the worst though.

The half mute-girl looked tired and messy with her dress slightly torn up and covered in dirt, scraps, and bruises. She looked like she was hurting the most.

Silence filled the air as one by one, all the humans and mutes realized something was wrong.

“Kipo..?” Asher found themself speaking up first without even meaning too, taking a couple more steps forward, “What- What happened?”

They watched as Kipo went stiff, clenching her jaw and grabbing on tightly to her dress. There was a moment of silence before Kipo finally spoke up, “Hugo... He...” She started, her voice hardly a whisper as she struggled to get the words out, “He...”

Tears began to fill Kipo’s eyes once more and she covered her mouth with her hands, immediately breaking down into broken sobs.

Asher didn’t even hesitate before closing the gap between them, pulling Kipo into a hug and holding her close. They carefully held onto her and lowered her to the ground, worried that the crying girl’s legs might give out, where they continued to hold her closely.

Kipo sobbed loudly, wrapped her arms around Asher as her shoulders shook, “He saved me- But-“ She choked out between sobs, burying her head in Asher’s shoulder. Asher felt a lump in their throat seeing the girl they loved like this and tried to swallow it, but it didn’t seem like it was going away any time soon.

Kipo didn’t have to say anything else for Asher to understand what she was saying.

“It’s okay...” They whispered, remembering how their parents did this for them and Dahila when they were younger, “You don’t have to say it if it hurts to much... I know what your saying...”

It did take Asher a bit to figure out who Hugo was, but they remembered a few occasions of Kipo calling Scarlemange that on accident before correcting herself and Scarlemange attacking the mute version of Emilia to save Kipo.

Asher wasn’t that close to Scarlemange, or Hugo, at all really, but they knew that Kipo was close to him and much like her sister-like bond with Wolf, Kipo also had that sibling bond with Scarlemange.

They couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to loose Dahlia through her sacrificing herself to save them, but the very thought made their heart ache. So they just held Kipo closer, as though they could keep her safe from all the pain the world could cause.

Asher became aware of the other arms wrapped around the two of them, mostly Kipo, in an attempt to comfort her, but they didn’t pay any mind to them.

They didn’t know how long they were like that, but humans and mutes slowly began to unwrap themselves from the massive hug and step back, leaving only Kipo, Asher, Lio, Song, Benson, Wolf, Dave, Mondu, Troy, and Dahlia. Asher opened their eyes and pulled away from Kipo a little bit, although not letting go of her, only to find that she had fallen asleep in her arms.

Asher looked at Kipo thoughtfully before cracking a small, sad smile and pushing some of the hair out of her face. Even after being through so much and having her dress ruined and fighting a literal monster, Kipo still looked pretty to them.

They looked up at Song and Lio silently before letting out a small sigh. No matter how much they didn’t want to let go of Kipo, they knew that they should probably hand her off to her family.

They attempted to pass Kipo to her parents so they could take her back to the TimberCats’ village, but the girl sleepily mumbled in protest and snuggled closer to Asher, causing a blush to creep into their cheeks. They looked around at Kipo’s friends and family, their face slowly growing redder with embarrassment and panic of not knowing what to do.

Lio let out a soft, amused chuckle, catching Asher’s attention, before kneeling down in front of them and gently taking his daughter out of Asher’s arms. Kipo let out a small noise out annoyance and disagreement, but quickly feel back into a comfortable sleep as her father picked her up.

Asher almost immediately wanted her warmth back.

“We’ll meet you back at TimberCat village.” He said to Asher, Dahlia, and Troy, “It’s best if we get Kipo back to rest as quickly as possible.”

Asher stood up as Dahlia and Troy both responded to Lio, not really paying attention to what they were saying, but it sounded like they were agreeing. They stretched out their arms and legs after sitting for so long before their gaze inevitably returned to Kipo.

Even though Prahm hadn’t gone as perfect as Asher, or anyone, had hoped, they weren’t mad about it. It wasn’t a good time to confess to Kipo anyway. They made a mental promise to themself as well as Kipo that they would always be there to help her, as a friend, or possibly something more in the future. Someday, she would tell Kipo how she felt, but that day just wasn’t today.


	2. Countless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s been at least a month since Emilia and the other humans have disappeared and Asher finds themself unable to sleep.

It was surprising how easy it was to get used to the sound of wind causing the leaves to rustle in the trees, or just trees as a whole, when you’ve been living underground your entire life.

Asher sat on one of the ledges in TimberCat village, their legs subconsciously swinging back and forth as they looked up at the uncountable leaves and branches over their head.

Well- Almost uncountable...

“105... 106... 107- Wait- Dammit- Did I already count that one?” Asher said to themself in annoyance as they narrowed their eyes in concentration before letting out a sigh of defeat. Maybe they had counted enough leaves and felt tired now.

They laid back on the wood, facing them upwards to the barley-visible night sky, and closed their eyes to see if they even felt the slightest bit tired.

A frown started to crease their face and their eyebrows furrowed as though they could make themself feel tired enough to fall asleep. It didn’t take long for the nervous feeling that brought Asher out here in the first place to return, making their chest feel heavy and their heart start to pound.

Asher finally let out a shout, giving up and glaring at the sky, tears of frustration making their eyes sting. Why was it so hard to sleep? Why was nothing working?

They continue to lay like that on their back, chewing on the inside of their cheek as they watched the stars appear and disappear behind the leaves.

“Asher..?”

Asher immediately froze at the voice before sitting straight up and turning around to see none other than Kipo standing at the entrance to the tree.

They immediately felt their face heat up as they quickly, and clumsily, got to their feet and rubbed the tears out of their eyes. “Kipo! Uhm- What are you doing up?” Asher asked, maybe a bit too quickly.

Kipo looked and her friend thoughtfully, pursing her lips before walking towards them. “I heard a shout and wanted to check it out...” She said slowly.

There was a pause of silence as Asher fidgeted with their hands a little, unsure of what to do or say. Kipo suddenly sat down on the edge of the wood so her legs were hanging off. Asher looked down at her in confusion and curiosity. She gave them a grin and patted the open spot next to her.

Asher hesitated for a moment before returning the smile and sitting next to the half mute. Silence filled the area once more, but it was much more of a comfortable, calming silence.

“So...” Kipo started, “Do you wanna talk about why your up so late?” She asked, scooting a little closer to Asher. They frowned a little in response before looking out towards the TimberCat village, all of the looming trees and some of the lights still scene to light up the forest.

They quickly turned their attention away from the scenery and down at their hands. “I don’t know... I just can’t sleep...” Asher admitted slowly, “Every time I try to sleep, I just feel nervous about where my parents are. I think it’s finally starting to getting to me that we have no idea where they are or if they’re okay...” Their voice was soft as their hands grabbed and let go of each other repeatedly.

After a moment, Asher let out a sigh before sitting up straight and giving a dry chuckle as they ran a hand through their hair. “Ya, I guess I just was thinking about that thing parents tell their kids to count mega mute sheep in their head to help them sleep and I thought if I tried to come out here and count something real, it would help.”

Asher finally looked away from their hands and over at Kipo, only to suddenly realize just how close she was and how intently she was listening. They pulled back a little bit, their face immediately heating up, “Well- Uh- Sorry- That’s probably really stupid- I should probably just head back to bed!” They rambled, starting to stand up.

“What? No no no no! It’s not stupid at all!” Kipo immediately protested, grabbing one of Asher’s hands as she stood up as well. She gave them a soft smile, “When I first got to the surface, I had a hard time sleeping too. I was so worried about my dad, my teachers, my friends... You...” Kipo admitted, her voice only growing softer as she went. It looked as though pink was dusting her cheeks, but Asher misplaced it at just being the lighting as they felt their own cheeks start to redden.

The half-mute quickly shook herself out without letting go of Asher’s hand before letting out a small laugh, “So ya... Uhm... It’s not stupid.” She said, her voice quickly returning back to how it normal sounded, “In fact, I think I know something that might help!”

Kipo took both of Asher’s hands and pulled them more towards the center of the wooden platform with a large grin on her face, thoroughly startling them.

“Kipo, what are you-” They started to ask as the half mute let go of her hands and took a couple of steps back. Asher didn’t have time to finish their sentence though as Kipo suddenly transformed into a mega jaguar, immediately causing the wood to freak under the weight.

Asher could help but feel relieved that Kipo had decided to become the smaller, less extravagant purple jaguar instead. They weren’t sure if the wood would be able to take the weight if she did.

The now mega mute Kipo crouched down and began to nuzzle and nudge Asher, loud purring rumbling out of her throat. Asher could help but laugh and grin as Kipo licked their face, “Okay! Okay! That’s enough!” They laughed, pushing the giant jaguar away softly.

Kipo pulled back a little bit before starting to nudge at Asher a bit before finally managing to get under them enough so they slid onto the back of her neck.

Asher let out a small squeak of surprise as Kipo stood up to her full height as the smaller mega jaguar and grabbed on tightly to her soft fur.

Suddenly, Kipo jumped at one of the trees and began to climb up with ease. The former-burrow member inhaled sharply and held their breath as their grip on Kipo’s fur only tightened and they squeezed their eyes shut as the purple jaguar climbed through the branches.

At last, Asher felt Kipo burst through the foliage and landed atop the trees. They hesitantly opened one eye, still clinging on tightly to the back of Kipo’s neck. A gasp escaped them once they spotted the billions of stars above them, lighting up the sky.

“Wow...” Asher breathed, hardly noticing Kipo carefully sliding them of her back before turning back into a human. Kipo smiled at them and sat down on the branches, “I know right?” She said, her excitement barley contained. “The first time I came up here, there was a giant talking butterfly that Yumyan was trying to catch. I don’t think he ever caught it, so I was kinda hoping we’d see it up here, but I guess not.” She said, shrugging a little.

It was weird, Asher had been on the surface for over a month now, but this was the first time they had really scene the sky. They had spent the past month mostly under the dense foliage of the TimberCats’ trees and other than that, they had really been to busy to just look up and enjoy it.

“Oh! C’mere! C’mere!” Kipo said, quickly patting the spot next to her where Asher quickly sat. “Look! There’s my zodiac sign, Aries!” She said, pointing at the night sky. Asher tried to look at where she was pointing, but they only saw more stars. “I don’t think I see it...” They admitted.

Kipo scooted closer to Asher, a lot closer. She leaned against Asher as though trying to be able to see as close to their perspective as possible. “See it’s right... There!” She said, tracing her finger in the sky to follow the track of stars, her cheek pressed against Asher’s bright red one.

“I- I didn’t realize how many stars their were...” Asher managed to stammer out, unsure if they should pull away from Kipo or not or if Kipo was going to pull away herself. “Ya, I didn’t really know either. I mean- I was told there were a ton, but it was still startling!” She responded, still remaining close and comfy with Asher.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, Asher finally starting to relax while they leaned against Kipo and she leaned back. “So... Are you feeling tired yet?” Kipo whispered softly as though afraid to break the silence.

Asher frowned thoughtfully before shaking their head a little, “I mean... Kinda. I feel a lot calmer though.”

“Alright!” Kipo said, pulling away from Asher, “Than that means that this calls for extreme, fluffy measures!” She said as she stood up. Asher raised one brow with a small amused smile on their face.

Kipo suddenly turned into the full mega jaguar, causing Asher to immediately jump back in surprise. “Oh my god! I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that!” They said, a hand resting over their racing heart. The jaguar let out what sounded like an amused purr before carefully testing the branches. When a few of them cracked and showed how difficult it was to carry her weight, she change into the smaller mega jaguar with only 4 legs and 1 tail and, of course, significantly smaller and lighter than the other before laying down.

Asher looked at Kipo with a small, confused frown and tilted her head, “Okay..? Now what?”

Kipo only let out a small, chirp-like roar in response before standing up and carefully walking over to Asher, making sure she didn’t accidentally misstep and fall through the trees. The purple jaguar pulled Asher close with one paw before laying down again.

Asher let out a small squeak as they were pulled close to the big cat’s chest, nestled between her front legs and with her giant head resting on one side of her. They slowly started to relax into Kipo’s fur. They found that the jaguar’s rhythmic purring was actually quite soothing.

It didn’t take long for the exhaustion of the night to finally hit them, and it hit them like a truck as they sunk into Kipo’s insanely soft fur. Their eyes started to feel heavy and soon they had no choice but to shut them, taking one last look at the countless stars before finally slipping into a deep sleep.

~~~~~~~

“Yumyan finds you all!!”

Asher jolted awake with a shout as a large gray cat suddenly pounded on them and Kipo. The girl they were lying with suddenly sat up as well, “Huh?! What?? What’s going on?” Kipo said, her tired words sounding jumbled together.Asher rubbed their eyes tiredly, the bright sun hurting her eyes after so suddenly seeing. They sat up next to Kipo, their hair messy with multiple leaves and twigs stuck in both of their hair.

Yumyan sat back with a loud laugh as Dahlia ran up from behind him. “Jesus! There you guys are!!” She said, her expression growing relieved, “We’ve been looking for you two all morning!”

Asher’s twin slowed to a stop and looked over the two of them with her head tilted slightly to the side. A small smirk slowly crawled across her face, “Ohhhh... Are we interrupting something?” She said, her tone teasing.

They immediately felt their face immediately reddening with embarrassment. “I- Uhm- No! Uh- Sorry ‘bout worrying you guys!” Asher quickly rambled as they quickly tried to get to their feet.

“No, no, no. You two take your time, just come down when you’re ready. We’ll let everyone know where you guys are.” Dahlia interrupted, still grinning at her twin and Kipo. “C’mon Yumyan, let’s head back down.”

The TimberCat seemed confused at first looked from Dahlia to Kipo and Asher before just shrugging and hurrying after Dahlia, quickly disappearing back into the foliage.

“Well...” Kipo said, standing up next to Asher, “That was... Weird to say the least...” She continued slowly before shrugging, “But I guess this is the surface, so things can’t be too normal.”

Asher could help but laugh at that and grin at their crush, “I guess your right.” They chuckled, starting to pick the leaves out of their hair. Kipo looked at them before starting to do the same.

After a bit, Kipo started to make her way down through the branches. Asher watched her go for a moment before hurrying after her, “Oh- Uh- Wait a sec!” They called, stumbling onto the same branch as Kipo. “I- Uh- I just wanted to say thank you... For last night, I think I really needed that.”

A grin grew on Kipo’s face as she rubbled her arm and Asher could swear that her cheek’s looked a little red. “No problem!” She said before pulling them into a hug, causing it to feel like electricity had just hit Asher’s heart, making it go twice as fast as before.

Asher was semi-surprised at how long Kipo let the hug last before parting and smiling at them, “Welp! I better get going! H.M.U.F.A. stuff! You know?” She said, jumping down another branch and shooting finger guns at Asher before disappearing from their view.

They stood there in silence for a little while longer, a goofy grin resting on Asher’s face. They finally managed to shake themself out, hoping around on the thick branch they were on while making happy little excited sounds.

“You two really would be cute together.” Dahlia’s voice startled Asher out of their happy little dance as they quickly turned around to see their twin sitting on the branch of a tree next to the one they were on.

“Alright! I get it!” Asher responded quickly and began to half-slide, half-climb down the tree as their sister let out a laugh above her. They couldn’t help but smile.

Maybe they would be cute together.


	3. Leap of Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kipo gets an idea from Jamack’s new plan of riding a mega bunny around to get mutes and humans from place to place and decides she wants to do something like that for Asher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I left this for a few days to work on my school work and come back to find this at over 50 kudos??? Thank you guys so much!!! I love reading all your comments and I’m so happy you like this little one shot collection of mine!

“Only a bit further!” Kipo called down, holding on tightly to one of the the sturdy vines spread all over the tall, half collapsed, building. She looked down at the person climbing just a little below her, offering them an excited and encouraging grin.

Asher, who was looking down at the far away ground nervously, looked back up at Kipo, the wind tossing around their curly hair. “I’m pretty you said that at least 15 minutes ago.” They responded with a nervous chuckle as they pulled themself up a bit further, always keeping at least three of their limbs firmly placed on safely before moving the forth to slowly shift further up.

The half mute laughed, reaching one arm up as high as she could as she continued to look down at Asher, “I’m sure of it this time!” She responded, only receiving them sticking their tongue out at her teasingly as a response.

Her eyes widened a little in surprise when she felt her finger tips brush against the ledge and she quickly looked up to realize that the two of them were both, as a fact, basically already at the top.

A grin quickly spread across Kipo’s face as she looked back down at Asher, “See! I told you!” She said, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice as she brought her arm back down to climb up a little bit further so she could get a proper grip on the ledge, starting to hoist herself up.

“Wait, really?” Kipo heard Asher ask as they tried to get up quicker as well. The half mute didn’t respond, to busy kicking her legs out as she scrambled and pulled herself on top of the building. She stood up and looked around, while Kipo wouldn’t say that you could see all of Las Vistas from up there, she’d say that you could see a good chunk of it. Asher’s voice from behind her quickly brought her attention.

“Uhm- A little help?” They said, their voice 50% amused, 50% embarrassed, and 50% nervous, equaling 150% cute.

Kipo turned around to see Asher awkwardly holding onto the edge of the building with one arm completely swung on the ledge and their head heavily resting, as though trying to keep themselves up.

“Oh! Ya! Sorry!” She responded quickly, hurrying over to see Asher’s legs kicking in the open air beneath them as they tried to find a place to put them. Kipo quickly grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled back, pink jaguar fur growing on her arms to give her an extra burst of strength.

Asher let out a yelp as they were suddenly pulled forward, both them and Kipo stumbling. Kipo nearly tripped over her own feet, but managed to catch herself as well as Asher, the former burrow member leaning forward in her arms just over an inch away from her face with wide eyes and their entire face bright red. Kipo felt her own eyes widen in shock, heat spreading across her face as she quickly pulled away from Asher, looking away and rubbing the back of her neck with a nervous chuckle, Asher quickly echoing a similar nervous and awkward chuckle.

The two stood there in silence for a moment before Kipo looked over at the setting sun that set a golden glow across everything in it’s path and painting the sky in a variety of both warm and cold colors, a smile appearing on her face. “Check this out Asher.” She said, nudging them slightly.

They quickly came up to stand beside Kipo, a small grin appearing on their lips, “I’ll never get used to just how beautiful the surface is...” Asher admitted quietly, not taking their eyes off the scene.

Kipo found herself slowly looking over at the awestruck-Asher, a soft smile on her face. Asher snuck a glance at the half mute and Kipo’s face immediately reddened when she realized Asher had caught her looking at them.

She let out a small, nervous cough and glanced away from Asher for a moment before meeting their eyes again, “Oh! Uhm- I forgot I brought you up here so I could show you something cool!” Kipo said, her blush quickly disappearing.

“Kipo, you’ve already shown me loads of amazing things!” Asher protested teasingly with a grin, “THIS-“ They paused to gesture wildly at the sunset, “Was already amazing! What else would you want to show me?”

“Well...” The half mute responded slowly, a mischievous smile growing on her face, “I was inspired by Jamack’s new idea of using the mega bunny as a ride around Las Vistas and I thought that you know... As one of the biggest mutes, and arguably the most powerful, around, it would be fun to try.”

Asher furrowed their brows in confusion for a moment before their eyes widened with realization, “You- You’re joking- Right?” They stammered out, looking over the side of the rotting building, “I mean- Have you SEEN how high up we are?” The former burrow member stated, gesturing to the far drop.

Kipo leaned over next to them, fighting to hide a wince. The ground was... Further than Kipo remembered, but it wouldn’t matter! The mega jaguar was at least as half tall as the building, over half when standing on it’s back legs.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine!” She responded quickly, waving her hand a little. Asher looked at her doubtfully and open their mouth to disagree, but Kipo quickly scooped them up in her arms before they could say anything. If the two of them stayed here for much longer, Kipo was sure that she might decide against it.

Asher let out a yelp of surprise when they were picked up, their face turning bright red as they held out their arms a little bit. “C’mon! You trust me right? When have I ever been wrong about something?” Kipo said, with a cheeky grin.

“Ya- I do trust you when you aren’t thinking that jumping off a giant building is a good idea!” Asher responded quickly, looking anywhere except for Kipo’s face.

“Well...” The half mute said as she looked over the edge one last time, “Than I guess it’s a leap of faith!”

“Kipo! Don’t you daaaAAAAAAA!” Asher was quickly cut off when Kipo suddenly jumped, their arms suddenly throwing themselves around the girl’s neck as they pulled themselves closer to her.

If Kipo wasn’t currently falling hundreds of feet, she would probably be blushing like mad, but she didn’t have time for that.

Kipo only let the two of them fall for a solid 3 seconds before suddenly turning into the mega jaguar, her 6 huge paws almost immediately hitting the ground and having Asher now holding on tightly to the back of her neck. The jaguar didn’t even pause before suddenly taking off running, covering immense amounts of distance in suck a quick amount of time. She gracefully jumped over fallen trees and dodging through the looming buildings.

It was strange, Asher was so small on the back of her neck that she barely felt them, but at the same time, they were the only thing she was aware of.

The mega jaguar ran straight towards a large building heavily leaning against another one that probably would‘be probably completely collapsed if the second building wasn’t there before suddenly leaping over it, transforming back into a human where she had initially only a couple hundred feet over the ground as the mega jaguar, while now as a human again, Kipo was at least a thousand feet above the ground while holding Asher in her arms bridal style.

Asher, who had been quite tense with their eyes closed when ever the two of them got too close to hitting a building or tree, suddenly opened their eyes, letting out a shriek or horror at the new height they found themself at as they held on tighter to Kipo.

The half mute held Asher close as the two of them fell, a soft, caring smile resting on her face as she looked at them before looking ahead again with an excited grin and shifting back into the mega jaguar with Asher once again on the back of her neck as she took off running.

And so that’s what they did for the next 10 minutes. Kipo continued to run around, dodging any obstacles in of course the most dramatic and over top way possible to show off to Asher as well as changing between being human and jaguar whenever the two were high enough in the air.

At one point, she managed to convince Asher to open their eyes, even getting a nervous chuckle out of them.

At last, Kipo made one last jump, turning back into a human as she landed on top of a fairly high, two-story building. “See? I told you you could trust me!” She said, still holding Asher all scooped up in her arms.

Asher stayed quiet for a moment, staring at Kipo with wide eyes and their face a dark red. They quickly shook themself out with a small laugh as they slid out Kipo’s arms, although her hands still remained on their shoulders, “Hahah- Ya- But I’m never doing that again!” They said, as they tried to clean up their curly hair that was now all over the place.

“Understandable.” Kipo laughed in response, removing one hand from their shoulder to try and help Asher fix up their hair a bit, not noticing them stiffen in surprise.

The two stood like that for a long moment with Kipo blissfully unaware of simply how close she was to Asher while Asher was all to away of the small distance and Kipo’s hand in their hair.

“I- I guess we better head back-“ They stammered out quickly, taking a couple of steps away from Kipo as they looked at the ground, “My parents and Dahlia will probably be worried-“

Kipo looked at Asher quietly, just taking in how nice they looked under the shrinking amount of sunlight and growing amount of moonlight as well as their happy but shy expression and silently messed up hair. “Oh- Uhm- Ya- Me and the mega jaguar better get you back!”

Asher chuckled, “Ya, but just don’t try to run around or do anything fancy this time, just a nice walk home would be nice after jumping around and practically flying.”

Kipo laughed in response, “Once again, understandable!” She said with a grin before scooping Asher up once more and quickly hoping of the building, not wasting any time before turning into the mega jaguar.

The walk back was nice to say the least. It was mostly a comfortable silence with Asher occasionally pointing out something on the surface they hadn’t seen before, to which Kipo would respond with a relaxed purr.

The two arrived back at the TimberCat village, where most of the humans were staying as they tried to re-establish on the surface. Kipo quickly turned back into a human once she reached the part of one of the large trees where Asher and their family were staying at for the time being. The sun had completely disappeared at this point, but it wasn’t too late, maybe only 9:00 or 10:00.

When Kipo landed on the wooden platform, she looked down in surprise to see that Asher had fallen asleep. She smiled a little before entering the small room with four sleeping spots laid out, Asher and Dahlia’s father was already asleep, but Dahlia and her mother were nowhere to be seen, leaving Kipo to believe that the two were probably still up and about.

Dahlia’s mother had grown surprisingly good at wielding an axe like her daughter.

Kipo made sure to keep quiet as she placed Asher on one of the sleeping mats, drawing their blanket over them. She looked at them fondly one last time before, without hesitation, pressing a quick kiss to their forehead and quickly hurrying out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *looking back over my Kipasher one shots*  
> Me: Wait a damn minute  
> *fic 1 ending with Kipo falling asleep in Asher’s arms*  
> *fic 2 ending with Kipo and Asher falling asleep together looking at the stars*  
> *fic 3 ending with Asher falling asleep on the mega jaguar (Kipo’s) back*  
> Me: wAiT a DaMn MiNuTe
> 
> Anyway, I’ll try to diverge from that ending more!
> 
> Also...
> 
> me thinks Kipo’s pretty stronk and can carry her love


	4. Empty Throne, Abandoned Axe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asher is overjoyed when Kipo returns from her dangerous mission with Lio and Yumyan to save Benson, Wolf, and Dave, but she brings bad news Asher wasn’t ready for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE I’M NOT DEAD!!!
> 
> School has really been kicking my ass lately, but I’m finally starting to get through it though and have more time on my hands! I’ve been slowly chipping away at this one for weeks and I believe it’s my longest one yet, so I hope you enjoy it! <33

The sounds of crickets echoed throughout the silent forest. Asher wished that Kipo would return already. Kipo had left to save Wolf, Benson, and Dave from the clutches of Emilia with the help of her father, Lio, and the leader of the TimberCats, Yumyan Hammerpaw.

It was shocking how close Yumyan had gotten to the human kids he had stumbled upon months ago as well as the kids he was later introduced to as well to watch over. He became sort of an uncle to Kipo, Benson, Wolf, Troy, Dahlia, and Asher.

However, he had ended up being closest to Asher and Dahlia. The twins were left with the TimberCats the most often, if not every time. Kipo was always out looking for Emilia with Wolf and Benson helping her and even Troy got to come along and when he didn’t come along, he was most often with Benson or his father.

That would be the other reason Asher and Dahlia ended up the closest to Yumyan, the glaring issues of their missing parents.

Kipo had both her parents, and even though her mother was a mega monkey, they were still able to communicate on some level. Even then, she had Lio.

Troy of course had his father that managed to get away from Emilia, knowing her true intentions.

Wolf had only had parents the first 5 years of her life and Benson never really had parents, as far as Asher knew, so they were used to not having any parents around. The twins were still able to see how Lio also took good care of them too, Wolf in particular.

Asher and Dahlia, they had been with their parents their whole lives, and then they were just gone. All the TimberCats took good care of them, but Yumyan in particular was good to them. He taught them how to fight and use axes better, even how to ride Pierre.

Now knowing that Emilia had perfected the cure, knowing that both Kipo and Yumyan were in danger right now was scary.

Asher looked over the forest once more, their grip tightening on the axe they were holding, facing down. Troy was beside them, sitting on the ground with Mandu in his hands while their twin, Dahlia, was standing on Troy’s other side with an axe as well.

The snap of a branch quickly echoed through the silence, catching all their attention as Mandu suddenly ran out of Troy’s arms towards a particular pink haired girl in the distance and her friends.

A grin spread across Asher’s face as they quickly abandoned their axe and took off towards Kipo, Dahlia right beside them and Troy even beating the twins to the group has he embraced his boyfriend, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

It came as an automatic reaction to seeing Kipo return that Asher opened up their arms for a hug, it seemed as though Dahlia had the same reaction as she did the same thing. In the end they both ended up tripping over each other’s feet when they accidentally got a little too close to each other, landing with a hard thump on the ground as Wolf quickly stepped aside so the twins wouldn’t fall on her.

Asher quickly shook away their embarrassment as they stood up, dusting themself off. They were too excited to see Kipo back in one piece than to be embarrassed for falling in front of her.

“You’re back!” Dahlia said excitedly after she had gotten up, beating Asher to speaking. Kipo was quiet as she looked at them, she pulled the strange bundle she was holding a little closer to her before looking down at it. “Yep...” Her voice was soft and even broken sounding, a small forced smile on her face.

Fear immediately tightened around Asher’s chest as their eyes widened a little. Something was definitely wrong.

They suddenly found themself unable to find the right words to say before they just blurted out, “Well, can you still, you know...” Asher began before letting out a growl, moving their hands in front of them like claws.

As soon as they said it, Asher immediately felt the happy mood grow dull as everyone looked to Kipo, their expressions falling. The half mute looked up at Asher and nodded a little, that forced smile still resting on her face.

“Phew.” Asher couldn’t help but say, immediately felt the tightness on their chest begin to loosen. Kipo was okay and unharmed, at least they knew that much.

Dahlia took a step forward so she was side by side with her twin, “Then why are you so sad..?” She put in, her voice full of worry.

Asher looked around for a moment, a chill creeping up their spine. They took in a shaky breathe as their chest tightened again, “Wait.” The former burrow member said, “Where’s Yumyan?” Their twin went stiff beside them as though also just realizing the fact that the large, gray TimberCat was no where to be seen.

The half mute’s smile immediately dropped. She hesitated for a moment before looked down at the bundle that started to stir all of a sudden.

A familiar, but much smaller, fluffy gray head lifted up and looked at the twins, letting out a small mewl.

Horror shot through Asher like lightning at the sight. Yumyan Hammerpaw had been cured and there was no bringing him back.

~~~~~~~

Pierre slowed to a stop after Asher pulled back on his reigns. A grin spread across their face and they quickly began to laugh. While climbing on Pierre, the parasite had spooked and took off running through the forest, Asher had only just now got him to stop, but they were already covered in dirt and branches.

The bushes behind them started to rustle, but they couldn’t stop laughing at this point.

“Stealing my war parasite, are you?”

Asher looked over their shoulder with a grin, “Maybe, maybe not, maybe he just likes me more than you!” They joked between laughs.

Yumyan put his paw on his chest in mock offense, “Low blow from a burrow dweller!” He said as he walked up next to the giant flea.

“Hey! I told you for the time being I have no plans to go back into a burrow unless I’m able to go to the surface whenever I want!” They retorted and stuck their tongue out at the big cat.

The TimberCat gave them a smile before Asher continued, “How did you even realize Pierre had run off with me in the first place? I though you were with Dahlia.”

Yumyan scratched the back of his neck, “Ya, I was. I was teaching her how to play my special axe guitar, and believe it or not, it was actually quite easy to hear your shouting as my pet ran off with you on his back.” He started before pausing for a moment, “...and when Pierre gets spooked, he tends to leave a trail of destruction behind.” The TimberCat finished, gesturing to the path of torn up undergrowth and broken branches from where Pierre had run from.

“That- That makes sense.” Asher said with a small chuckle before carefully sliding off Pierre’s back, the flea laying down as soon as they did.

The gray cat let out a purr and rubbed the top of Asher’s hair, messing it up more than it already had been. “You did good though kid! I thought I’d have to stop Pierre myself, but you did good calming him down.”

Asher pushed Yumyan’s paw away from their head, unable to hide their excitement, “Really?!” The TimberCat leader grinned, “Yep, you could probably get a war parasite of your own, than all you need is a battle cry... Like, ‘Yumyan owns you all!!’.”

The former burrow member tilted their head to the side a little bit before smiling and throwing both fists into the air, “Asher owns you all!!” They shouted at the top of their lungs, making their voice slightly deeper to imitate Yumyan and waking up Pierre, who had been taking a light nap.

Yumyan let out a whole hearted laugh, a wide grin. “There you go!” He chuckled, patting Asher roughly on the back. His expression grew solemn and thoughtful before as he fell quiet. “Yumyan..?” Asher said, looking at him worriedly.

“Sorry, I was just thinking.” The TimberCat admitted, rolling his shoulders, “I already talked about this with your sister, but the world is much more dangerous for mutes now with Emilia around and I just want you to be ready for anything that might happen to any of the mute friends you have made on the surface, including myself.”

Asher’s face dropped and they looked at Yumyan nervously. He looked at Asher and chuckled a little, ruffling their hair. “Don’t worry, I highly doubt anyone could defeat the great Yumyan Hammerpaw!” He exclaimed with a grin before his face grew solemn once more, “But, if something does, I’m entrusting you with Pierre. I’ve never seen anyone be as good of a care taker to him than you have, and sometimes I’m pretty sure he likes you more than me.” He finished with a jealous glance at Pierre, who only huffed in response.

Yumyan quickly shook himself before looking back at Asher “Now go grab your sister and we can head up to the canopy. There’s a butterfly up there that the three of us could try and catch.”

“Alright!” Asher responded with a smile, the former rather gloom mood was quickly forgotten. They found themself unable to stop smiling as they climbed back aboard Pierre’s back, grabbing the reigns.

“I’ll see you up there!” Yumyan called up to Asher as the war parasite started to take off back towards TimberCat village. Asher looked back over their shoulder with a grin, “Bold of you to assume that you’ll get there before me!”

Yumyan only responded with a hearty laugh before starting to climb up the tree.

~~~~~~~

Asher gently stroked Pierre in silence, holding a bottle of maple syrup that he was drinking out of. The war parasite had no idea what had happened to his owner, nor what he had been changed into. They couldn’t tell him though, he still wouldn’t understand. He was Asher’s responsibility now, even if he didn’t know.

“Hey Asher...”

The soft voice caused Asher to lift their head to meet Dahlia’s eyes. Their twin sister looked solemn, her cheeks had tear stains on them, and she looked both sad and worried. In the end, Asher didn’t respond to their sister, instead just keeping their eyes on her to show that she had their attention.

Dahlia rubbed her face a bit before looking back at Asher, “Uhm- So Benson and Dave apparently left Yumyan in the kitchen and now he’s missing so I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to try and find him.”

Asher frowned a little bit, their eyes narrowing. They knew that Dahlia wanted to be able to spend time with them so the two of them would be able to talk about what happened to Yumyan, but Asher didn’t feel ready for that yet.

They didn’t feel ready to accept what happened to Yumyan yet.

What he had turned into.

“Have they checked the kitchen yet?” Asher asked, breaking the silence. Their voice was equally soft, but much number.

Their twin paused for a second, her brows furrowing together thoughtfully before letting out a sigh. Dahlia ran a hand through her hair looking at Asher sadly before finally speaking again, “Look... I can tell you don’t want to talk about it, but when you do, just know you can always come to me. To any of us.”

When Asher didn’t respond, Dahlia gave them a small smile, “And I’ll make sure to check the kitchen.”

Before their twin left, Dahlia walked over to Asher and pulled them a little away from Pierre and into a hug, holding them there for a fair amount of time before letting go and walking away with a sad smile.

~~~~~~~

The giant flea laid sleeping on the ground, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. Asher sat next to him on their knees, leaning against Pierre as they stared into the distance, their gaze unfocused and tired.

Bushes began to rustle as someone approached and Asher let out a small sigh of annoyance, “I’m not coming with you to find the cat, Dahlia...” They spoke up, their voice hoarse and tired.

“Uhm- Not Dahlia, but she did send me if that counts.”

Asher squeezed their eyes shut and pressed harder against Pierre, biting their lip as Kipo sat next to them and shifting their position so their back was facing Kipo.

“Well- Than I’m not coming with you to find the cat, Kipo.” Asher responded, unable to keep themself from speaking a bit faster and their voice from wavering.

The half mute went quiet, the two former burrow members sitting next to each other in silence. A mrrow caught Asher’s attention, causing them to open their eyes in surprise while still facing away from Kipo. The next thing they knew, claws were poking through their shirt as the small animal climbed up their back.

Asher inhaled sharply when the fluffy gray cat came into view in the corner of their eye, it’s front legs holding it up as high as it could be with it’s eyes wide and ears pricked. It’s purring was loud next to Asher’s ear as the cat looked around at the new surrounding. Well, technically it wasn’t a new surrounding for it, no, for him. Yumyan wouldn’t remember the very place is beloved war parasite was kept and he never would.

“Kipo-“ Asher said, their voice growing strained as their throat tightened with withdrawn emotions.

The now cured Yumyan Hammerpaw began to nuzzle his face up against Asher’s, like you’d see a normal cat would, before climbing down into their lap and clawing at their legs before ‘loafing’ in their lap and closing his eyes in content.

Asher’s arms were pulled back as they looked at Yumyan in almost panic, tears beginning to fill their eyes. Their mouth opened and closed helplessly, unable to find words. All their work to ignore and shut out what had happened to Yumyan suddenly seemed to crumble as their lips began to tremble.

Yumyan looked up at them and let out a small chirp before standing back up and brushing his face against Asher’s hand, finally causing them to break as they let out a choked sob.

Tears began to freely roll down their face as their shoulders shook. Asher carefully rubbed their hand against the side of the gray cat’s face, barley even touching him as though afraid he would break. It was a long time of silent sobs and trembling before Asher finally found it in them to speak, “He- He shouldn’t have gone on the mission-“

Kipo was silent before reacting to Asher’s comment, carefully placing a hand on their shoulder and turning them to face her. “I know...” The half mute’s voice was hardly a whisper at this point, “If he hadn’t been though, Benson and Wolf would both be dead and Dave might’ve been cured-“

“But then Yumyan would still be here!”

Asher’s suddenly shout cut her off as they looked at Kipo, their whole body trembling with emotion. They immediately faltered when they saw Kipo’s face, her expression tired, sad, and with just as many tears that they had.

“I- I’m sorry...” They stammered out, turning their gaze down to their lap where Yumyan was comfortably curled up. “I shouldn’t have snapped out like that... I’m just- I’m so mad... and sad... and... and hurt...” As Asher spoke, their voice gradually grew softer and weaker until it was hardly above a whisper. “I guess I knew Emilia was evil and what she was capable of... but it never actually hit me until she actually cured someone.”

Kipo scooted a closer to Asher slow they were both pressed against each other, Asher now able to feel just how much the half mute girl was trembling. “Me too.” She admired softly, looking down at Yumyan as well as she began to stroke him down his back repeatedly, “But... My mom is working on a cure for the ‘cure’ now and the death ivy walls that are starting to be put up will protect all mutes from this happening to them. Even though the curse’s cure won’t be able to reverse what has happened, it’ll make all mutes immune to it in the future.”

Asher looked up and over at Kipo in silence as they watched the girl pet the fluffy gray cat with a sad smile on her face. They had learned about the wall and the return of Kipo’s mom from passing TimberCats who were talking about it. Most TimberCats had come by to see Pierre, but none of them said anything to Asher, although they felt them looking at them sympathetically.

Everyone had thought Kipo’s mom had been dead, only to learn that she had been turned into a mega monkey, and now, Kipo finally had her back. Asher couldn’t imagine the torrent of emotions Kipo must be feeling with all the conflicting events from within the last day.

“So... How is she?” Asher finally asked quietly. Kipo immediately looked at them, tilting her head to the side, “Who?” She asked, her confusion clear.

“Song. You’re mom.” They said, shifting a little uncomfortably, worriedly they’d stepped over a boundary. A gentle smile spread across Kipo’s face, immediately flooding Asher with relief, “She’s really amazing, she knows just as much if not more science than my dad does and I even have her nose!” The half mute said, unable to hide her excitement as she talked about her mother, even through her clear exhaustion.

Asher smiled, leaning back a little bit as they began to pet Yumyan more comfortably, “That’s good, I’m happy you got your mom back.” Kipo returned Asher’s smile with a soft laugh as she wiped the tears off of her face. “I’m really happy about it too.”

The two fell back into silence, although this one was much more comforting. After a moment, Kipo’s hand suddenly wrapped around Asher’s as she sat up. “Hey, why don’t you come meet her?” She asked, “Dahlia told me that you’ve kind of been here... All day and on top of that haven’t eaten...”

The former burrow member pursed their lips and looked down at their hand that was now locked with Kipo’s to hide the blush that had spread on their face, unsure if they should feel annoyed with their sister or grateful that she got Kipo for them.

When Asher didn’t respond, Kipo decided to continue, “I’m sure there are some leftover flapjacks or crab we can eat. My mom’s working on the actual cure in the main hall and we can eat there and talk to her.”

Asher was hesitant at first, not wanting to see Yumyan’s now empty throne, but in the end, they nodded silently in agreement. Kipo grinned at them gently before standing up, still holding Asher’s hand. Asher quickly stood up as well, making sure to readjust Yumyan so they were holding him in one arm.

With that, Kipo began to lead Asher back, hand in hand. Asher stumbled a little at first and had to stretch out their legs a bit since this was basically the first time they’d walked all day. It didn’t take long for Kipo to start to tell Asher all that she did, her mom trying to challenge a group of Scooter Skunks to a race, getting stung by Dubstep Bees so she suddenly started to uncontrollably dance, just a whole chaotic adventure.

Honestly, Asher couldn’t find themself to expect any less when it came to the troubles Kipo got herself into. That was one of the things they loved about her. She was also always there for people, just like she had been for Asher. That’s what they wanted to do for others. 

They looked at Yumyan, who was tucked between their arm and chest comfortably purring. Asher wasn’t going to let anything like what happened to Yumyan happen to anyone, especially not Kipo.


	5. Dance With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prahm has now become a yearly thing. An anniversary of sorts between mutes and humans to celebrate them coming together. However, Kipo only has her mind on one specific person tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 100 kudos and nearly 1k hits now?!?! You’re all genuinely so amazing! This fic was suggested by celeste!

Small, glowing berries growing off of thin vines that were strung up in the trees above the forest floor. The looked similar to the fairy lights Kipo liked to have strung up in her room back in her old burrow. Of course, there weren’t any fairy lights on the surface, but Kipo would argue that these looked much more pretty.

It had been a year now since Emilia’s defeat and the final piece that had followed between humans and mutes. It turns out that Prahm became a yearly thing, a sort of celebration or anniversary of sorts. Of course, Kipo was all for it.

This year the TimberCats had offered to host the meeting in TimberCat village this this year, gathering the glowing berries to string above and light up the area, inviting everyone to the new year’s Prahm, without the extravagant apology like the humans had done the year before, and even prepared another Unraveling.

Mutes and humans talked excitedly and danced in the clearing the TimberCats had cleaned up. The TheaOtters had even put on a play about the ‘daring’ adventures of Kipo and Co. that was long over though, as the TheaOtters were now enjoying the Unraveling, one of the best forms of theatrics apparently.

Music echoed through the forest and around the huge trees. Multiple different species of mutes were taking turns playing their own songs. From the TimberCats’ banjo to the UmlautSnakes’ rock and even to the sweet piano that Kipo had taught Wolf to play.

Of course, Wolf, who Kipo could describe as no one less than her younger sister, had been suspicious of the piano that Hugo had once played, but she had quickly grown fond of it. Kipo would even say she was a much better player than her. Wolf found a way to make her own style of music with the piano and Kipo couldn’t be more proud of how much the once mute-hating, kinda terrifyingly aggressive, girl had grown in the span of nearly a year and a half since knowing Kipo.

The half-mute girl stood at the edge of the party and dance with a cup of punch in her hand as she continued to look around with a soft smile on her face.

Benson was helping organize who’s turn it was to play their song as well as playing a human song either from the old world or that he had made himself, with the help of Dave, of course. All the while, he still got plenty of dance time with Troy when he left Dave in charge instead.

Wolf was mostly sticking with Mandu, occasionally playing the piano, but for the most part just happily enjoying it. Kipo even caught her younger sister watching after the mute wolf pups and telling them about her mega corgi. Wolf still didn’t trust the Neuton Wolves, at least the full grown ones, but Kipo was surprised at how wonderfully she got along with the pups.

She was pleasantly surprised at how much her friends’ parents had gotten along with the mutes as well, Asher and Dahlia’s in particular, who were sitting at a table talking to Molly while Yumyan ate a can of tuna hungrily at their feet.

Of course, Kipo’s attention was quickly grabbed by Asher. The former burrow member was dancing with their twin sister playfully, clearly just enjoying the music and the night without any worry. Last year, Kipo hadn’t gotten to ask Asher to dance, because of worrying about Wolf and Hugo while also having to deal with Emilia’s attack, but mostly because of the fact that she hadn’t even been aware of her feelings for Asher at the time.

However, now she couldn’t stop wanting to be with Asher, the way they smiled at her whenever she came around how they were willing to stand but the half-mute’s side no matter what danger she got herself into. Kipo just couldn’t believe it took her this long to realize how much she loved them.

Well, probably because of all the running and screaming that had issued on the surface.

Kipo’s eyes widened in surprise and she immediately felt heat spread across her face when she realized Asher was looking back at her. How long had she been looking at them like a lovestruck puppy? Or lovestruck kitten? Lovestruck cub? Ya, a lovestruck cub, a jaguar cub to be specific.

She realized the two of them were still looking at each other and Kipo had accidentally started to stare once more while thinking about the correct term to use to define how lovestruck she was. Her turned a darker shade of red and she quickly looked down at the punch in her hand, rubbing the back of her neck with her other hand with a small smile on her face.

After a moment, Kipo glanced up again to see Dahlia talking to Asher with a smirk on her face, gesturing towards Kipo. When she did, the half-mute noticed the blush that immediately crossed Asher’s face as they shooed their sister away. Kipo pursed her lips thoughtfully before setting down her cup and making her way to Asher, who was still glaring after Dahlia.

“Hey Ash,” She said, surprised at how soft she had made her voice sound. Asher jumped in surprise and turned around to look at her, red flushing their cheeks as they looked at Kipo’s outfit. It was similar to last year’s, a rather poofy dress, while still being more sleek and longer than the last one with a deep red and pink gradient that became at least half way transparent by the time it reached the bottom as well as an added on black bow tie-collar around her throat.

Kipo felt her cheeks redden a little too when Asher responded, “Oh- Urm- Hi Kipo!” They responded happily. A smile crawling across their face. They were wearing a tuxedo, the black having a clear purple or blue hue to it with sleeves that became more frilly once it reached the wrists. Their hair was up more so like before they cut it, but the bun was messier.

The half-mute couldn’t help but think about how cute and perfect Asher looked in their Prahm outfit, but quickly shook it away. She quickly shook it away though, not wanting to accidentally let herself end up staring at them.

She knew that she couldn’t back out now, but at the same time she found herself looking down at her feet as she held out her hand to Asher, “I was wondering if you wanted to dance?” Kipo said, unable to stop herself from smiling as she looked down at her open palm, hoping desperately that Asher would accept and take it.

Asher was quiet for a moment, making nervousness creep it’s way into her heart, but she quickly looked up when Asher’s hands rested in hers. Asher was looking down at their now interwoven hands as Kipo looked at them, their expression almost hard to read as their eyes sparked from the glowing berries. They finally looked up at Kipo as well with a smile, “I’d love too.” They said, red and pink dusting their cheeks.

Kipo grinned before pulling Asher out more towards the center of the clearing where more humans and mutes were dancing, causing their cheeks to redden more than they already had.

The two began to dance, it wasn’t an actual planned dance or certain formation, they just kind of bounced along to the music the UmlautSnakes were playing. Multiple songs passed, including many laughs and giggles between the two whenever Kipo would make do an exaggerated dance move just for the fun of it, and maybe to see Asher laugh.

The half mute’s attention was unfortunately pulled away from Asher when she spotted Dahlia talking to Benson and Troy near the edge of the party, gesturing at Kipo and Asher as well as the stage where music was being played from. Both of the boys laughed and seemed to be in agreement with her before Benson walked away from the two and over to the stage, causing Kipo to raise a brow.

Asher must’ve followed Kipo’s gaze as they were now standing beside her looking over at Benson talking to some of the mutes up there. “I wonder what song they’re planning on playing next?” They asked, glancing over at her.

Kipo shrugged a little bit, not realizing her hand was still locked with Asher’s. The next thing they knew, a slower song started to play, causing everyone on the patch of the clearing that had been dedicated to dancing to pause their dancing, and one by one, all the mutes and humans around Kipo and Asher each turned to a partner before starting to rhythmically sway until Kipo and Asher were the only ones just standing around.

After a moment, Asher spoke up, “Well- Uhm- Do you still want to dance or would that be too awkward and you just kinda want to get some concessions?” They rambled out, looked down at their feet in a poor attempt to hide their blushing face.

Kipo smiled at them fondly before taking both their hands in hers, “I’d love to keep dancing Asher.” She said softly, before glancing away a little embarrassed, “But just warning you that I really don’t know how to dance all fancy like everyone else.” The half mute admitted, letting go of one of Asher’s hands to rub the back of her neck.

“Oh- Well uh- I could help you learn.” Asher offered as they took a couple steps closer to Kipo. “You just rest your hand on my side here- And I do the same- And our other hands just hold each other like this.” They explained as they moved their own and Kipo’s hands into the correct positions, meanwhile Kipo was struggling to keep her face from turning bright red from how close she was too Asher.

The two began to sway rhythmically like everyone else around them, both of their faces practically glowing red from their close proximity. Occasional nervous, stiff chuckles whenever one would step on the other’s foot, usually Kipo stepping on Asher’s, but they slowly began to loosen up as their movements became more graceful and fluid.

Kipo looked up from her and Asher’s feet at their face, that was still tilted downwards at the pair’s feet. She smiled softly as she watched her crush smiling down at the ground happily while the two dance. She never knew that Asher knew how to dance like this until now, little did she know that Dahlia had been teaching them how to do it for the past couple days for the sheer reason of Prahm and the possibility of dancing with Kipo.

Asher seemed to have noticed that Kipo was looking at them as they looked up to meet Kipo’s gaze, but she didn’t mind as her smile grew wider when Asher looked into her eyes.

The former burrow member smiled back at Kipo, looking thoughtful before suddenly twirling Kipo around and dipping her low to the ground. The pink haired girl’s eyes widened and her smile faltered for a moment due to being startled before she giggled as Asher pulled her back up, both of them now red faced. Kipo couldn’t stop letting out happily little laughs and even occasional jaguar-like purrs.

The two began to twirl each other around to music, holding each other close as they smiled at each other. The half-mute decided that she wanted to return the favor Asher had given them and quickly scooped them up in her arms and spinning them around, causing them to let out a little squeak of curlier before Kipo set them back down.

Asher let out a breathless laugh and pulled Kipo a little closer, pressing their forehead to Kipo’s and closing their eyes with their mouth still partially open with a gentle smile resting on it. Kipo looked at them with a closed-lip smile before pushing her forehead into theirs as well and closing her own eyes.

The two slowed down, beginning to gently sway with each other once more, both of their eyes closed with content and peace as the music softly continued in the background.

“I really like this...” Kipo admitted after a while, her voice hardly above a whisper. Before Asher could respond, if they were even going to, the half mute continued, “...and I really like you... Asher. I guess it took me this long to figure it out due to the whole ‘saving the world’ thing and than ‘making a safe society for both humans and mutes to live in.’” She said with a soft chuckle.

She felt Asher go a little stiff, immediately feeling worried that she had said the wrong thing until Asher spoke up. “I- I really like you too-“ They squeaked out, Kipo was able to feel their hand trembling slightly in hers. Asher opened their eyes and looked up at Kipo without pulling her forehead away, “Just to be clear... You- You don’t mean like a friend, right?” They asked, their tone growing anxious.

Kipo laughed, looking into Asher’s chocolate eyes before letting go of their side and cupping their cheek, “No, I don’t mean like a friend...” She responded, some how finding a way to grow softer and more compassionate than it already had been.

Asher looked back at her, their mouth slightly open in shock while the corners of their mouth were curled up to make a small smile. Kipo chuckled lightly at her crush’s awed face. She looked down at their lips only once before finally taking the risk and pulling Asher closer to her and pressing their lips together.

The kiss didn’t last long, it was simply a quick peck before the two broke apart. Asher looked at her with shock, their face blushing a dark red. Kipo looked at them in shock as well, one of her hands still resting on their cheek and the other holding one of Asher’s hands. A small smile slowly grew on the former burrow member’s face as they looked down at the ground between them, “Can- Can we do it again?” They asked, their voice hardly audible.

Kipo’s shocked expression remained for a moment longer before she let out a chuckle and used her hand on Asher’s face to tilt their head up so the two were looking into each other’s eyes once more.

This time, Asher moved first, letting go of Kipo’s side and her hand before cupping her head in their hands and pulling her into a second kiss. Kipo quickly melted into it, taking in the vanilla and caramel smell of Asher’s hair and how soft and sweet their lips were. She moved her hand that had been holding Asher’s hand down to the former burrow member’s side and pulled them closer to her as the kiss continued.

They held each other there for as long as they could before they finally had to break apart for air. Kipo breathlessly laughed, holding the back of Asher’s head and their side, holding them close enough that they were both pressed against each other. “I really love you Asher...” She said softly with a gentle smile. They responded after moving their hands down from Kipo’s cheeks to her shoulders “I love you too...”

Unbeknownst to them, Dahlia, Benson, and Troy, who were watching from the side all shared a fist bump as they watched Kipo and Asher with matching smirks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Dahlia, Benson, and Troy worked together to try and plan this out, and it all went according to plan in the end ;)


End file.
